Small biotech firms quicker to 'latch onto' AI than big ones, says Tencent Healthcare President

Reuters

Thu, May 28, 2026 astatine 6:33 AM CDT 1 min read

HONG KONG, May 28 (Reuters) - Small biotech firms "latch onto" AI much rapidly than bigger firms, the caput of ‌Chinese tech elephantine Tencent's healthcare part said connected ‌Thursday, arsenic much businesses clasp AI to amended efficiency.

Pharmaceutical companies are besides progressively ​turning to AI to accelerate probe and development, betting connected caller modeling tools and automated labs to amended ratio and slash costs arsenic good arsenic cause improvement timelines.

Drugmakers including Novo Nordisk ‌and Eli Lilly person ⁠announced AI-related collaborations with exertion firms.

"When you person little people, erstwhile you request to bash more, ⁠you thin to fig retired much businesslike ways of doing things," Tencent Healthcare President Alex Ng told Reuters.

"AI is decidedly thing ​that they ​latch onto precise quickly," helium ​said. For precise large ‌pharmaceutical companies, however, with elaborate organisation and specified workflows, conscionable adding an AI volition sometimes not beryllium successful, Ng said.

Industry forecasts suggest that the usage of instrumentality learning to optimize people discovery, plan molecules and streamline objective proceedings readying could halve ‌early-stage improvement timelines and costs wrong ​the adjacent 3 to 5 years, ​Reuters has antecedently reported.

Ng ​also said radical person go much affirmative ‌about embracing AI and what it ​can execute arsenic ​the exertion improves.

"I deliberation the civilization and the situation and the treatment has changed truthful overmuch that I ​think a batch ‌of radical are a batch much positive," Ng said.

(Reporting ​by Andrew Silver successful Shanghai, further reporting by Hong ​Kong newsroomEditing by Tomasz Janowski)